Kimputer's Weblog

Success for low budget slasher flicks vary from time to time, but they usually rebound their budget or make a killing (financially, of course). Lately, they’ve been on a slight uptick again, but honestly, I couldn’t care less, cinematically speaking.
This one is no different. Just your typical horror, with the latest hot topic “home invasion” (see last year’s Funny Games). They all seem to scream, live in the upperclass suburbs at your own risk, but beyond this message I see nothing new. It’s your average “help I’m getting chased by a psycho killer, let’s do something stupid to make my own situation worse, aaaargh, I’m dying” movie. Sure, it builds some tension here and there, but it’s still not enough to make a movie (still missing out on story and character). So the overall warning still stands, don’t go to these type of movies (resist, even if you really crave for a Liv Tyler movie).4.

Rate 1 (sucks) to 5 (cool). Only rate the latest pictures, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.

Total: 809 out of 249 votes > Average is: 3.249

The only gadget I brought back from Taiwan (since the MSI Wind or the Asus EEE 1000 wasn’t available yet), after some rigorous testing, I can finally send out this warning.
Most Dutch websites are now taking pre-orders for higher version than mine, for a whopping 800 euros. For that much money, you should consider these points.
Mine was just 360 euros, but has only 1 GB memory and a slightly slower CPU. It was delivered with an awful Linux distribution (SUSE Desktop 10) and I worked with it for a week. Not only is installing simple software impossible (from xine to vlc, it just couldn’t resolve dependencies even when including 3 full repositories), but a full system freeze would occur on a daily basis.
After switching to XP Pro, I could start my review at a less rageful state of mind (no freeze-ups anymore too!). The keyboard at 92% of the normal size but still requires a bit of getting used to. Luckily, it’s far from the crampedness from Asus EEE PC. Of course, the small size means it fits in my backpack without problems. The full aluminum body also means it should last a big longer (I hope).
But not all is good yet. The 8.9″ screen (mostly advertised with the wrong resolution) is 1280×768, it’s really sharp, but letters will be really tiny on this already tiny screen. Battery life isn’t something to write home about either, usually lasting around 1.5 hours when working at a normal pace or watching movies. You will have to live without an optical drive, but that’s with all the competitors in this ultramobile pc business.
The most horrible point though, is the slow CPU. Ultra low voltage, but also ultra low processing power. Some highly encoded XViD movies will be shocky now and then, and for more intensive tasks, you have to wait a few seconds before the application starts.
For a 360 euro gadget, it’s not that bad (though you can’t get it here). But for the upcoming version in the webshops, you should really start thinking about it, because first of all, you can buy two normal sized notebooks with 10 times the speed. Second, the speed problems I’m having will quadruple. Even with slightly higher specs, it’s delivered with Windows Vista and will surely bring the notebook down to its knees (and bump you on the back of your head for good measure).
My advice is to save your money and get an MSI Wind or OEM clone (The Medion Akoya Mini when you’re in Germany, or the Advent 4211 when you’re in the UK) for around 400 euro. Heck, just for fun, when I might just get one myself.

It’s been over two weeks since I’m back home from vacation, and you haven’t seen any updates yet. That’s mainly because I needed more time to relax. Actually, I still need more time, so no written pages with pictures just yet.
But to keep you a bit occupied, here’s a flickr stream, mainly because it’s free and saves me a whole lot of bandwidth.

Downsides though:
– 100 MB limit
– 1024×768 image resolution limit
– no nice URL to give to friends.

Ah well, if anyone has a better suggestion, feel free to inform me (free to use and ad-free public viewing, and all mentioned downsides removed or upgraded).

Here ya go for the pictures I’ve uploaded for now: http://flickr.com/photos/28285142@N08/

(update: new link here)

Oh and a K-uiz for the less geographically challenged Google Earth oglers, try to guess the coordinates where I’m taking the pictures between P1090567 and P1090713. There should be enough clues already.

Will Smith continues his July blockbuster trend, but it’s not all fun this time. A slightly bit down character makes for a darker moody atmosphere, but actually doesn’t provide Mr. Smith an extended range of acting opportunity (instead it’s just a sour face throughout the movie). Besides this departure (his movies were either full blown fun, like Independence Day and Men in Black, or it was overall serious, like Ali or The Pursuit of Happyness), the script is a bit off, the three acts are so noticable different, it’s a bit disturbing.
Director Peter Berg let’s down too (coming of an excellent engaging The Kingdom), inviting us into the movie with a high speed green screen cgi sequence, but making it look like it’s finished with Sony Handy-cam and an amateur version of Pinnacle Studio 9. Maybe it was a budget or time issue, but it’s a bit Will Smith unworthy.
Overall though, the movie is still enjoyable (still enough jokes to go around), it’s just not as strong and solid as you’d expect.7+.

Movies based on the truth are usually interesting. You’re always trying to figure out what was the truth and what was the embellishment. Based on the book “Bringing Down the House”, which was embellished already, the movie probably does a 1 on 1 translation, with enough truth and excitement to fill a whole movie. With a longer than expected 2 hour running time, it doesn’t bore at all. There’s the bit of drama, and the bit of smarty pants intrigue to keep it all running. While mostly focusing on the main character (Jim Sturgess), Kevin Spacey gets enough screen time too, setting down a interesting character till the end. Antagonist Laurence Fishburne’s character is less fleshed out, but fierce on its own nonetheless.
Overall, while not too deep, it’s interesting and entertaining.7½.

Long anticipated 3D animation featuring Jack Black as a fat panda. It’s the usual Dreamworks fun (like fellow studio outputs, Shrek, Madagascar, Bee Movie and such), so it’s just plain fun.
Jack Black as a voice actor is doing a great job, as are all the other co-stars. On screen, the characters are either fierce or utterly cute. Story isn’t that complicated, and contains the predictable fat jokes. The fighting could be seen as ground breaking, but is less impressive pixelated than coming from real people, from the likes of Jet Li and Jackie Chan.
Still, it’s major fun to see a cuddly bear transform into a mean fighting machine, while ultimately, it’s sweet as hell.7½.

Rate 1 (FR#^&% MESS !) to 5 (how very tidy !). Only rate the latest picture, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.

Total: 1357 out of 443 votes > Average is: 3.063

While I was having a fabulous time in Taiwan, someone at home clearly wasn’t. From bright green, to white-ish/brown. Poor bonsai, so much for getting up to 800 years old (like they are in Happo-en in Tokyo, Japan).

Being dragged along for a girl’s movie, it only happens when you finally have a girl friend. The upside (this time), I didn’t fall asleep.
Since I didn’t see any of the episodes, only knowing it’s was hit series on HBO, it was kind of a surprise to me to see a movie play out in such a simple way. The story itself is utterly simple, easily described in half a line, but the dialogue and small confrontations that tries to drive this girl vehicle along, are so simple, I can’t believe it’s been on the air for 6 years. At least there are some jokes going around, but the quips are basic and not too sophisticated.
Objectively, I can say it’s not a very good movie, even though the IMDB demographic ratings breakdown is funny to watch (4.2 males/7.5 females), it just suggest females can’t be objective when they see words like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Versace, DG and Chanel flying around.4+.

No update for a while, because I was doing a lot of things not involving me sitting behind a computer. And once again, I won’t be doing that a lot, so here’s just a picture of a hotel room I just checked in.

Jealous yet ?

Anyway, more pics and post will probably follow when I’m home in a few days (Tropical storm Fengshen (Frank) willing).

Oh, and I’m typing this on my newly bought HP MiniNote 2133 (1GHz ViaCPU, 1GB, 120GB HDD, 8.9″ LCD, SuSE10.1 Desktop). Not too fast, and battery life is probably nothing spectacular (I couldn’t track down the more advanced specified models), but at least it’s small and light, so I can carry it around more easily.

Here are some nifty things I noticed in Taiwan.
Basically, every room has an airco unit, due to the weather patterns here. For Taipei city, you should count on some 2 or 3 million units alone. Lots of energy needed for that.
However, to compensate, I’ve noticed almost all homes voluntarily already have all their traditional glowing lamps replaced by fluorescent saving ones ones.
Here are some pictures of simple but effective tricks I’ve seen in all homes.

All light switches have a tiny light indicator if it’s off. It means if you enter a room (which is sometimes naturally dark), you can find the switch in an instant. No more walking around like a ghost bumping your knee into the kitchen table.

Most power extension blocks have individually switched connectors. Really handy, just switch off the things you don’t really need in an instant.

Here are some other saving techniques introduced. The staple-less stapler. As you can see, it’s an HP invention, and I don’t know if you can buy it or not (I got it for free from someone), but it’s really handy dandy. As you can see, it works by punching a whole and folding the newly created flaps it through the back.

With exactly 2 hours to kill, and nothing else to do, I thought I would give this second chapter a chance, even though the first one was pretty horrible.
Apparently, C.S. Lewis didn’t expect his readers to grow up, and decided to write another children’s book. Of course, the possibility exists I have it at the wrong end, and the screenwriters left out the more interesting things, and in that case, they’ve done a thorough job. Because once again, there’s absolutely nothing interesting to tell about the story or characters. Other than trying to convert someone to Catholicism or to teach your kids what an empty shell is, I see no reason to see this movie.4.

Here we have M. Night Shyamalan at a new dawn, making his first R-rated movie.
And it does show. While still a good director, instilling chills with minimal means and forcing one’s imagination to work, this product isn’t as polished as I hoped it to be. Script and dialogue are a bit shaky, with no real depth of character or other deeper meanings. Instead we get more bloody scenes.
And maybe missing most of all, is his signature ending. As a normal scary thriller, it’s okay, just don’t expect quality as high as his first few products.7½.

Luckily, Tapei is so big, there are several cinemas here as big as I’m used to back at home. But that’s not the issue here.
The issue at hand here is mean green and frankly, quite bulky.
Also, it’s been only 5 years ago that Hulk was released. Now already comes a quasi-sequel/retcon.
Basically, it removes all the good things Ang Lee put in, and leaves in the action. The general public will love it (proven by a higher IMDB score), but I think it’s for the worse. Of course, Edward Norton is still a good actor, but the original Bruce Banner (played by Eric Bana) had more emotional depth to work with. Same goes for Liv Tyler (Betty Banner, originally played by Jennifer Connoly).
That’s not to say this movie isn’t entertaining, because it certainly is. The action is brutal, and there are enough setups for either a sequel or Marvel team-up.
For those who need instant superhero gratification, this is it. For those needing depth, rewatch the original.7½.

Some more live reporting, I noticed the current fashionable hair style for males seems to be half/semi/mid-long to girl-ish long, so consistently, that I can say with the highest certainty that I have the shortest haircut of the country.

What this city holds to the highest standard is service. In restaurants, there are always enough waiters running around quickly tending to your every need. In stores it’s the same, helping try out as many products as you see fit, eagerly opening and repacking the packages.
This level of service I’m not used to, let alone some trivial (local ?) thing as a footmassage. Check this link to see what it entails (beyond the obvious of course).
What it fails to mention is that a Guantanamo Bay detainee (terrorist suspect or not) will be more comfortable than me in one of those 6-stars establishment. Unbeknownst to me, I did not expect that so many thousands of bones and muscles could be hurt in just one foot. Now have this excruciating pain continue for 40 minutes and if it wasn’t for my gamma-radiated hardened body, I’d be out rolling on the pavement, crying like a little baby. So, be warned, because even though everything here is cheap, you still actually have to pay for this “service”.